MARGIN OF SAFETY Definition

MARGIN OF SAFETY, in accounting, is how much output or sales level can fall before a business starts making a loss. In investing, it is the difference between the intrinsic value of a stock, i.e. value based on stock valuation and what the company is actually worth and the price that the market sets on a stock, i.e. a stock price is a matter of the market participants opinions.

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BOOKS OF ACCOUNT are the financial records of a business. Usually refers to the lowest level of recorded data, before summaries are made.

MATERIALITY PRINCIPLE requires accountants to use generally accepted accounting principles except when to do so would be expensive or difficult, and where it makes no real difference if the rules are ignored. If a rule is temporarily ignored, the net income of the company must not be significantly affected, nor should the readers ability to judge the financial statements be impaired.